Global Descent: I Alone Can See Hidden Evolution Paths

Chapter 53: Ice empress

Deep within the inner sanctuary of the Celestial Palace, the massive emerald cocoon of raw nature force remained undisturbed. Liu Xiao sat motionless in her perfect meditation stance atop the white marble dais, her green and white silk gown draped over her lap. Her exotic emerald eyes were closed, her breathing moving in a slow, rhythmic cadence through her parted lips as her soul drew deeper upon the hidden palace roots. Her recovery was a quiet process; slowly weaving the massive threads of the Nature Core back into her soul structure.

Meanwhile, in the primary penthouse lounge, the focus shifted entirely to the newly rescued woman. She leaned heavily against a white stone pillar, her breathing shallow as she tried to process the reality-breaking metrics of the fortress.

She was staggeringly beautiful, possessing a mature, exceptionally voluptuous hourglass physique. Her pale, translucent skin was smooth as polished winter crystal, highlighting a pair of piercing, icy-blue eyes and a full mouth painted a deep shade of dark violet. She was draped in a form-fitting, sleeveless combat gown woven from crystalline white silk that left her bare shoulders entirely exposed, the dangerous slits of her gown revealing the remarkable length of her legs. Her full breasts heaved with anxious breaths beneath the silk bodice, her narrow waist and rounded hips twitching slightly with an underlying panic.

"You are a mortal monarch..." she whispered, her voice sounding like a low chime of ice glass that trembled with exhaustion. Her exotic eyes were locked onto the pulsing golden runes of Min-jae’s chest plate. "The Heavenly Council spoke of a rule-breaking anomaly on the lower planes, but to think you could erase thirty thousand shadow legions just by presenting your skin to their blades... Who are you really?"

Min-jae walked calmly over to her, his imposing dark armor casting a steady shadow across her face. His hands remained casually inside his pockets. He didn’t ask for her background, nor did he ask for her name; his system cheat was already scanning her underlying parameters, flashing her true identity directly onto his retinas.

[Scanning Target Identity...]

[True Name: Gu Bylai (Level 36)]

[Identity: Supreme Goddess of Ice / Regional Overseer of the Fourth Sky.]

[Current Status: Subordinate Link Available.]

Min-jae reached out, his strong fingers firmly wrapping around her soft chin, forcing her icy-blue eyes to lock onto his deep, unbothered gaze. The close physical touch sent a sudden wave of raw solar energy through her freezing mana veins, causing her porcelain neck to instantly flush a deep, sultry crimson as her heart raced violently.

"Your titles mean nothing in this palace, Gu Bylai," Min-jae said smoothly, his voice a low, seductive baritone that sent a deep shiver straight into her core.

Gu Bylai’s eyes widened in absolute shock, her lips parting as her breath hitched. "Y-You... how do you know my true name? I haven’t spoken a single word of my lineage to anyone on this plane."

"I see the paths of everything that crosses my borders," Min-jae replied flatly, his expression entirely deadpan as his grip remained dominant. "If you want to survive the final execution run against the abyss, you keep your eyes locked on my terms and leave the questions behind. Am I clear?"

"C-Completely... Monarch," Gu Bylai gasped softly, her proud posture entirely melting into a willing, breathless submission beneath his suffocating aura.

Before Yoo Ji-a or Kang Chae-yeon could step in with their usual territorial glares, Major General Shin Ye-rin’s voice cut crisply through the lounge via the communication grid.

"The telemetry arrays are reaching maximum saturation, Min-jae," Ye-rin reported, her steel-gray eyes fixed onto the tactical terminal screen as the interface projected a new, flashing grid of data. "The tracking network has successfully bypassed the dimensional tracking seals of the fifth layer. The radar has isolated the final three friendly deities."

Min-jae slowly released Gu Bylai’s chin, his hands sliding naturally back into his armor’s pockets as he walked over to the central holographic table.

"Coordinates mapped," Ye-rin executed instantly, her fingers moving like a blur. "They are hiding inside a shared, high-security pocket sanctuary known as The Covenant Spire, directly beneath the Fifth Sky’s central domain. But the radar is registering a massive, forty-thousand-man demon vanguard fleet positioning their siege ships directly over their threshold. They are trying to breach the core seal within the next three hours."

Min-jae looked at the pulsing red line on the map, a dark, ruthless grin spreading across his handsome face. He turned toward his seven stunning, highly evolved teammates, all of whom were standing in a precise, lethal line, their weapons vibrating with intense combat parameters.

"The compilation is complete," Min-jae murmured, his voice a low thunderclap that echoed through the majestic marble corridors of the Imperial Haven. "Xiao’s cocoon is perfectly stabilized under our palace shields, and our tracking line is secure. We aren’t waiting for the demon vanguard to crack the spire. We are going to drop straight into the center of their fleet and strip-mine their entire command line."

"My spear is fully synchronized with our palace lattice buff, Monarch," Yoo Ji-a purred, her long, midnight-black ponytail swaying violently as her spear hissed with a combination of twilight lightning and fresh starlight. Her violet eyes flashed with an addictive, bloodthirsty battle-hunger.

Kang Chae-yeon rested her massive claymore against her shoulder, her wild crimson hair catching the starlight as her amber eyes gleamed with pure, unhinged amusement. "Let those forty thousand demon dogs deploy whatever high-tier conceptual spells they want. The moment they hit your armor, I’m going to turn their front line into toothpicks with my 500% Asura domain."

Min-jae slowly reached out his left hand, the purple spatial mana of his Primordial Calamity Sun Affinity expanding around his palm with a volatile, planet-burning thermal friction. The true damage runes along his sub-divine armor cast an ominous, commanding glow across his handsome face.

"Hold onto my shoulders," Min-jae commanded flatly, his voice carrying an absolute, unyielding authority. "Keep your mana loops locked."

Ji-a and Han Seo-yoon stepped tightly to his right, their voluptuous curves lightly brushing against his side, while Elena Vance and Lady Crimson flanked his left. Cynthia and Ye-rin stood firmly directly behind him. The stunning new Ice Goddess, Gu Bylai, stepped closely into his chest flank, her pouty lips slightly parted as her exotic eyes locked onto his face with a fanatical, absolute devotion that completely bonded her soul to his throne.

"Spatial Void Phase," Min-jae murmured.

Voom!.

Space across the entire Sss-rank Void-Sovereign Imperial Haven completely fractured like brittle glass. In a fraction of a millisecond, the air imploned with a massive vacuum pop, and Min-jae along with his seven flawless queens and their new ally vanished from the fourth layer, launching a direct, unannounced rescue run straight through the dimensional gates of the Fifth Sky to hunt down the remaining executioners of the cosmos.